Other forms: assassinated, assassinating, assassinates
To assassinate is to murder an important person, usually for political reasons. Assassinate the president, an assassinated leader, plot to assassinate him.
The word carries the motive with it, which is why an ordinary murder is never called one. Character assassination is the figurative use and means destroying a reputation deliberately.
1verbassassinateTo murder an important person, usually for political reasons.
“Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of senators in 44 BC.”
assassinate is a killing.
From assassin, which came through Arabic and medieval Latin from the name of a sect said to carry out killings.
Middle French
assassiner
English, today
assassinate
From assassin + -ate, after Middle French assassiner.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA